#literally was just talking about the most recent instance with my friend and she was like 'havent you told me about this before?' lmaoo

[datura-tea]

it's fine if you kill ulysses. truly. blow him up with a million explosives, whatever. it's your game. but if you go out of your way to tell me, known ulysses enjoyer, that you killed him and you liked it and it was the best thing ever, i think i'm legally allowed to kill you

[oscconfessions]

the most frustrating part about Taco talk atm is not just that a ton of people are in a black or white mindset (even if they don’t realize it) but that they are not referencing outside of her, acknowledging a theme that some have recognized but haven’t like? connected the dots? between them? i guess? It’s the theme of how the mindset in realty shows show off the worst in people and ruins relationships. but if taco was the only instance of trying to work against that that would be pretty poor fucking theme.

why haven’t we mentioned Marshmallow recently? she literally left ii of her own volition because she noticed that very thing. and maybe not someone who connected it to the game itself, but Soap had a good point as well. She also noticed these themes happening in her team, and although she didn’t relate them to the game, it’s still important. and this is not mentioning the times we can see this theme unspoken, often with those who go along with it rather than against.

but Soap didn’t have the ability to do anything about it except her words. Marshmallow, nothing against her, really, but she just left without a word. Taco knows she’s antagonistic. Taco knows she can have leverage over people. Taco uses this semblance of power she believes she has to prove the very same point proactively. It is muddled up because of her antagonistic nature, yes, but it is the same. i’m sorry(/s) if she hurt your favorite characters feelings, or just your feeling alone. that’s not the point. her point was to show how the game changed them. she literally said so. how good you think she did- well that’s up to you- but Lightbulb did leave actively. in an environment where she felt uncomfortable and pressured and was TOLD that she can “win for her team!” despite how she feels, despite where she is mentally. in the beginning of tacos questioning you can literally take away: LB felt she had to win for her friends (as seen with PB, or she’d be a disappointment) but she felt she couldn’t do that. Tacos words rang true to Lightbulb.

Taco is antagonistic, yes. she knows and exemplifies that. Taco also partook in the theming, of ruining friendships and being a worse version of yourself, yes. she acknowledges that, she knows that. that may as well make her better for the part. as much as i’d like to address things unrelated/less related to theming on how i feel people are simplifying or straight up lying about Taco, i’ve easily gone on long enough. and frankly, i probably wont later. i am very tired of all of this ALREADY and it’s only been five days as of writing this. i guess the tldr is that taco and ii itself is morally grey, who knew?/s thank you for coming to my ted talk. -💥

.

[butchsophiewalten]

I realized that I know way less than I thought abt him as I was trying to explain it to a friend so...do you have any ideas on what "bon" is? I recalled him being some kind of programming inside of Bon (prolly the thing Susan and Charles were testing this episode), but it seems pretty clear he's more than that so...idk

I originally thought "Bon" was going to be a way to refer to the artificial intelligence of the animatronic Bon, but honestly, all signs point towards "Bon" being a literal ghost who is haunting the Bon animatronic.

The most obvious indication of this, that kinda spoiled the surprise before we even got there, was the description of the "Bon" Makeship plushie:

But even looking just at the context we can glean from TWF4, it is very obvious to me that Bon is a ghost both in the way he talks to Susan and in how he is not confined to the body of the Bon animatronic, like an AI program would be.

All of these things he said to Susan during the Wonderland sequence indicate to me an entity who Is a "spirit", as he puts it, and has enough experience with being a spirit to have a lot more information about the ordeal than Susan does. The first and second screenshots here especially indicate to me that "Bon" has probably existed for a while, and the animatronic Bon may not even the the first or only vessel he's ever been tethered to.

In the sequence that goes back through the events leading up to Susan's death that we saw before in Bunnyfarm, we start out with an empty room with just the animatronics in it. Here, Susan is outside the door of the Employees Only room, speaking into her recorder. Before she enters, we see a strange upside-down white face in the corner. This face then slowly approaches and then enters the Bon animatronic, before Susan enters the room to begin working on him.

I think retrospectively it's kind of obvious that this is "Bon" entering the animatronic. But there's a few other instances we see of "Bon" not strictly being confined to the body of the Bon animatronic, like here in Lacrimosa:

(I know there's a couple other instances I caught on my most recent rewatch, but I'd have to go through the whole episode again to remember where they are so I can include screenshots.)

So, yeah. I definitely think Bon is a ghost, or a "spirit". We just don't know, like, Who. Or 'what', I suppose. I am excited to learn more about him... very mysterious character.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for "gossiping" about a coworker?

I (27m) work in a liquor store and am quite genuinely the most competent employee despite having been until very recently the newest. Other than the owner, there are 2 who've worked there longer than me and both of them (I'll call em C (31m) and M(39f) have made much less effort to learn about liquor or even, quite frankly, people skills than I have. And lemme tell you, I started out very socially anxious. I'm a regular socialite now.

So C, at least, has a really good work ethic. He's not super socially adept with customers but he makes up for it by going above and beyond, like taking initiative to do a lot of the relatively "shit" work that the rest of us don't wanna do. I'd also say I get along with him very well bc he's pretty intelligent and open-minded.

M, meanwhile, is genuinely the most simple-minded person I've ever known in my life. The good thing is that she seems to be kind of self-aware of not being very smart and able to be a good sport about it (ngl it helps that I'm gay and she's the type to want a sassy gbf so i can kinda get away with being mean as a joke) - and she is also often just as self-aware about the fact that she doesn't do shit at work. Like she'll literally pause deliveries just bc she doesn't feel like driving, she never takes out trash, she's basically always late, she mentally shuts down at the prospect of any math despite working with money, she has little to no decision-making skills either, she spends half her shift in the bathroom and the other half literally playing solitaire, she isn't able to help customers with shit bc she's never made an effort to learn about anything we sell, etc. But she's nice, and we really don't need her help that much with anything other than just having people behind the counter.

And that's more or less what I told the newest hire, S(25F). It was in the context of explaining exactly how incredibly easy this job is - that basically almost nothing was gonna be expected of her. As examples I told her how M does the least here by far after being here for over 2 years and is at no risk of being fired. I really didn't think much of it bc my intentions were purely to point out that this is a chill job.

But a few weeks later, seemingly at random, M kinda blew up at me for being "disrespectful" about something entirely unrelated. In short it was a matter of me getting a little too comfortable joking about her incompetence in front of a customer, and I hadn't realized in this particular instance it would be upsetting but I understood after the fact and I apologized. She responded literally ONLY by saying "you're not gonna disrespect me, I'm grown" and went on to literally just leave for the day. I was baffled, but when I saw her next I basically immediately gave another apology. She explained then that the reason she was upset was that the new girl S told her that I said she was the laziest one here, saying "I thought we were friends."

I obviously tried to apologize profusely, promising her that it wasn't a "talking shit" sort of thing and trying to explain the context of that, etc. But also I think it's pretty fucking rich and kinda insane of her to be so upset that I said she was lazy. She says so herself, all the time. Also the fact that S would tell M about this conversation and clearly either leave out the context or just do nothing to dissuade M from being upset about it.... Basically idk if I should feel bad about this. In the future I won't be talking shit to S just pragmatically speaking but WAS i wrong to do it at all? AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[cryptidclaw]

Just to make it a bit more public since it's come up again - Thrush and Blue didn't really interact before she was a warrior. Yes, she saw him on her first day out of the nursery. Literally all that happened was she learned his name and that he had recently been made a warrior. It's been a while since I read it but it was my favorite book for a long time, but I'm pretty confident they didn't have any in text interaction before she was made a warrior. They might have talked here or there when she was an apprentice, but never when she was a kit. And it was only after she'd been made a warrior (and was one for a bit) that Thrushpelt showed any interest in her. And said interest was always very mellow. He was always really chill and he did not care about getting friend zoned. He was happy to raise Blue's kits with her and was devastated when he thought her kits had been taken by a fox. He never once said anything about him not being their father and was always very polite and respectful to Bluefur and never had any interactions that could be considered creepy.

TL;DR - Thrushpelt is not at all like Thistleclaw, or even Dustpelt. At most, there's a one year age gap and he didn't ever talk to her before she was a warrior. (You could look at his wiki page if you'd like, this is one of the few instances it's actually useful to)

~ @outof-theshadows

Good to know!!! This is how I remember it too! But 8 can never trust my shit memory lol

I love Thrush , he's a good boy :')

[missgryffin]

You are a terrific writer, Eternal Summer being my fav. I just discovered tumblr recently and can’t wait to ask you some(many) things.

I know ES is a SMUT fav but the character development, tension, emotions that it invokes with respect to friendship, love, and small plots is fantastic as well. I believe the only part which I hoped to have skipped is James relationship with Adelaide, hahaha. Also, I feel Eddie is very perceptive; he probably realized Jily chemistry before most and two instances that stood out to me 1) him breaking up with Lily 2) bringing Lily to James after the attack.

I was sort of disappointed that James had no clue of Lily’s struggle of feeling out of place until he talked to Eddie. For someone in love with Lily was he that oblivious to how she felt about being at Hogwarts amongst the growing tensions?

I would love to read a prompt about how James finds out from one of the girls about Lily considering to leave Hogwarts at the end of sixth year in midst of blood purity tension while James is still ignoring her. Something on the lines of “she said is it worth coming back next year and what (or who) for”

Hi, thank you so much!! 🥰 Re: your disappointment, I'll explain my perspective below the cut:

Keep in mind that ES is being rewritten, so some details and sequences surrounding the Adelaide storyline are changing, but here are my thoughts based on what I remember from ES 1.0 and my view/intention of the story.

To start, I want to clarify that James's conversation with Eddie is primarily about her dynamic with Adelaide, not blood purity tensions as a whole. James knows Lily faces overt bullying and harassment from blood purists—he's comforted her multiple times by this point in the story, so he of course knows it weighs on her. But he also knows that Lily is confident, strong, self-assured, and incredibly stoic about it all. She doesn't want to be seen as a victim, and James doesn't see her as one either. She fights back, she's sassy, she's popular and successful in school, she holds her own. There's no question in any of their minds (Lily, James, their friends, Eddie, the wider social circles of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw) that Lily (and all Muggle borns) belongs at Hogwarts for her magical abilities and deserves to be there as much as anyone. James especially has great respect for her and is unequivocally on her side against their common enemy of Voldemort supporters.

What James doesn't know about is the underhanded, subtle bullying that one of their own Housemates is doing to Lily—and that's what Eddie opens his eyes about. Adelaide is a character foil to Lily. She's a textbook mean girl, and it's a very backhanded kind of mean girl, not necessarily overt. Adelaide's not hexing Lily in the hallway, she's gossiping and lying and being catty and trying to steal Lily's man. And when she's not doing it in front of James (because she wants James to think highly of her), and Lily's not saying anything because she doesn't want to give Adelaide the satisfaction of knowing she's angry/bothered, there's no reason for James to know that kind of stuff is going on. He's not a mind-reader, nor does Lily expect him to be.

The Adelaide arc is also about James's loyalty as much as it's about Lily's struggle with jealousy and dealing with a sneaky mean girl. We know the importance of loyalty to James from canon, and Adelaide is a blind spot for him. She's in Gryffindor; their parents are in the same social circle; they have history together. He's sort of automatically extended his loyalty to her as a person on his "side" and once that's his status quo, it's even harder for him to see her as a perpetrator. James expects Slytherins to be cruel, but he doesn't expect girls in his own house to treat Lily poorly. And it's not that James is/would be in denial about it if shown proof—it's that the thought literally doesn't cross his mind until the proof is shown. Eddie breaking it down for James (and then Lily opening up to James about it) is that "proof."

The importance of this for James is to understand the deeper layer of psychological warfare going on. He gets the first, overt layer of fighting Slytherins—he participates in it. And I think he's even aware of the "mean girl" dynamic amongst girls to an extent when it's purely about dating/jealousy. But Adelaide's conflating the two in a way he didn't realize was happening because she was doing it in that mean girl way when he wasn't around.

And wrt Lily's feelings, I think it's important to highlight the difference between Lily feeling something versus a mean girl making her feel something else. Meaning, ES!Lily's default is to feel like she belongs. She doesn't feel like an outcast. She feels like a person on the side of a war where all her friends are too. From the very first time she learned about magic from Severus, she felt welcomed in it—he enthusiastically brought her up to speed about the magical world ("You've got loads of magic"), and then she made friends and became popular at school, and became one of Slughorn's known favorites for her skill and charm.

(This is also why, while I appreciate you sending a prompt, I don't feel a connection with this particular one. Given my interpretation of the state of the war in ES and my characterization of Lily, I don't think she would have considered dropping out of Hogwarts. I actually think she feels very safe there because the atmosphere that Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the other teachers have fostered (not to mention her friends and wider social circle) is that the Slytherin/Voldemort supporters are not only in the wrong but are very much the minority. I see seventh year—when Voldemort's priming his young recruits for exiting Hogwarts and encouraging acts of terror—as a turning point where Hogwarts itself starts becoming more dangerous.)

Of course, the reality is that there is still a lot she doesn't know simply because she didn't grow up in that world, but most people in her life (her girlfriends, Eddie, even James and Euphemia, in the meeting in Dumbledore's office) are naturally kind and patient with explaining new information to her. But Adelaide does the opposite—she actively tries to undermine Lily and make her feel bad about herself, much as the Slytherins do. It leaves Lily feeling a lot of anger and resentment, plus, because Adelaide has history with James, there's jealousy woven in there too. But because Lily's a strong, stoic, confident Gryffindor, she's also too proud to let Adelaide know that Adelaide's succeeding in getting under Lily's skin, so she puts on an extra brave face when dealing with her.

All this ultimately leads to Jily growing closer because Lily finally reaches a point where she fully opens up to James, so they can talk about the deeper insecurities and issues Adelaide's presence and actions have created between them, and ultimately come out of it as an even more united front than before.

[razorblade180]

I may get some hate for this, but… I’m not really a fan of how Yang has been handled in the past few volumes. Like, in my honest opinion, she feels less like Ruby’s older sister like what was shown in the first few volumes and more like just a love interest for Blake to have. It feels like she’s gotten to where she cares more about Blake than Ruby in my opinion.

[This is not a rant btw]

In my opinion it’s more of a “show, don’t tell” problem. There’s never been a moment I doubted that Yang loves Ruby to death, but also the show at times tries to have moments that by design, should be heavier, but don’t land as hard because we didn’t actually see the connection that got us to this point. It can be conflicting. I mean Ep 2 of Volume 1 literally has Yang just leave Ruby at the front of their new school to go catch up with friends.

Just today I saw a post about how it kinda hurt to hear Ruby say the things she did towards Yang considering how Yang gave up her childhood to help care for Ruby. I read that and I’m like….they aren’t wrong but we also really have to take the word of the show that Yang really sacrificed a lot, because we didn’t see anything. Not every viewer can or should be expected to latch on to unseen moments; and it kinda goes both ways. We never have Ruby expressing or preaching on about how meaningful Yang has been in her life because this show never wants to really talk about the Ruby and Yang that made it to volume 1. Their past is so vague and never really bleeds into the dynamic we see in meaningful ways.

Also, this is sorta a nitpick, but it doesn’t help that sometimes there’s dialogue about a character that isn’t really true or points something out that nobody ever thought was a problem for a character. The most recent instance of this for me is last weeks episode 6. Blake told Yang “You are always the first to lighten a situation” when Yang objectively been the most aggressively negative member of team RWBY from V4-V7 and tied with Ren in V8. Volume 9 is the first time Yang acts similarly to before the fall of Beacon. Yang also in the seen talks about how nice it was that Blake wasn’t scared of her when they met. As an audience, that’s never been a problem or insecurity expressed to us but I digress.

So while I do agree with you a little, I don’t see it as a Yang problem or shift in dynamic, and more of a writing problem that’s been there for awhile. Personally, I would’ve loved to get more of their sibling dynamic because I too have a big sister and am also someone’s older sibling. So for me, hearing what the show has told me about their situation, I do find it pretty weird that Ruby doesn’t see Yang somewhat as a second mom to a degree; or how Yang isn’t as attached in certain regards.

Has anyone seen Onward? You would think at some baseline level they would be a little more like those two brothers in a way.

[myfaveisfuckable]

Susie:

Played the amazing Alex Borstein, Susie Myerson has possibly the biggest dick in show business. This woman, working as a janitor at a comedy club in New York in the 50s, decides to become a manager for a future famous comedian, having no prior experience with managing or comedy. Throughout the series, there are the three moments that defined her brass balls the most. The first is telling a famous comedian who recently hired her as a manger to get fucked after the famous comedian insulted Susie's friend and client. This comedian was so famous that Susie basically could have just gone and personally crapped on everyone single doorstep in the industry and come away with more favorable results. The second instance was she was literally kidnapped by some Batman the Animated Series looking goons who were paid to intimidate her onto leaving the managing business. Her big dick energy manifested when she smooth talked her way into befriending the goons through shared shitty childhood experiences AND THEY TOOK HER TO THEIR HOUSE AND INTRODUCED HER TO THEIR FAMILY. She probably could have gotten away with fucking their wives but I digress. The final time was during the series epilouge. Susie has made it famous and rightly becomes obsessed with fancy birds. The final scene involves her and her first client/friend sitting, watching jeporday together, each in their own homes across the country, after a conversation with her friend who had just sent her a beautiful parrot.

* it's spiritual

Xena:

1. The confidence. The badassery. Played by Lucy Lawless, who radiates BDE herself. Partially responsible for my bisexual awakening.

2. She has THE big dick energy. Like, the entire show is about her adventures with her (implied) girlfriend Gabrielle after she quit being a mercenary (or smth similar). She is so badass, and there's even a beauty pageant episode where she discovers one of the other contestants (she's trying to prevent assassinations bc politics) is (heavily implied to be) biologically male, and they ask her to let them at least let them quietly withdraw instead of revealing "the truth about them" (it's unclear if they're trans, a drag queen, or something else) and Xena is such an ally about it. In a show from the 1990s. She takes absolutely no shit while being absolutely amazing nearly all the time

* it's spiritual* it would be canon if it were up to me

[heartshattering]

/// venting, past SA mention

Stress is wrecking my sleep again, I really wish I could just feel okay but there's always so much spinning around in my mind. The problems I'm going through with my friend are hitting me harder than I thought, like I had all these annoyances bubbling inside of me and it's only now that she's gotten even more irritating that they're finally starting to surface and I'm questioning why we even stay friends. We don't have any common interests anymore, she's rude all the time and says things that are discouraging or flat-out dismissive.

If I open up to her about issues specifically related to one of my disorders, she'll be like "People without ADHD go through that too, it's not your ADHD causing that issue! :)" or "Oh I do the same thing and I don't have BPD! *proceeds to tell me about an incredibly mild form of mirroring she does which isn't nearly as severe as what I literally just described to her*".

It's been years already but I hate that she told the person who SA'd me after rejecting them that maybe I would "change my mind" about them and date them in the future. Told me I should have given them another chance. And didn't stick up for me at all during a conversation with them where they were putting me down and saying things like I was wrong and immature for not forgiving them and that I'm going to be alone forever.

This guy (not her current bf but one she was interested in for a while) used to call me crazy and a liar for being mentally ill and she always sided with him too. And there's been other examples too, the only time she sides with me is when I'm talking about my mom but in pretty much every other instance she takes the other person's side and acts like I'm just mean/crazy/unforgiving or whatever.

She's weird about my ethnicity too like asking me "Why don't you put biracial on forms?" or "Why don't you identify with your dad's background?" when I literally haven't been in my dad's hometown since I was a kid/don't have contact with anyone on that side of the family except him.

She flat-out told me "Your life is never going to get any better" (lol) and tries to pressure me all the time even knowing how difficult my life situation is and how it's unrealistic for me to pull some stupid stunt like running away from home or calling the police on my parents and all the other "advice" she gives me while knowing that would just make things worse and send me into a breakdown/spiral (which has happened before). But everyone loves to see drama break out I suppose so this would just be another "show" for her, it's just like when I was in that shitty support group where this lady tried to get me to check into a homeless shelter as a way to hide from my aunt and my mom.

Honestly I'm just so sick of dealing with her. I feel bad because she's done really kind and thoughtful things for me before, it just feels like the bad things are what are at the forefront of my mind right now. But I feel like I've been way too lenient when it comes to some of her comments and behavior towards me, most recently this new bullshit where she wants to use me for money and keeps saying things like "I'd understand if you were poor but I know you can pay for it" and thinking that just because I did one nice/expensive thing for her, now I have to do similar things all the time.

[everythingunderthestarsthings]

Rewatching Code Lyoko - X.A.N.A. Awakens

Hey!

Recently started to rewatch Code Lyoko since I had some time to kill. Plus, Code Lyoko is a comfort show of sorts and I love watching it when I'm stressed, or something is particularly wrong in my life and I need a reminder of just... joy. Nostalgia.

So here's the link to the complete episode dubbed in English, and my analysis and thoughts about it (the video linked does not belong to me, I found it on YouTube).

Code Lyoko - X.A.N.A. Awakens - thoughts

This is it. The beginning.

This two-part episode is not on Netflix, but is still available on Youtube for peoole to watch. This story tells us how it all began, and how the Lyoko Warriors came to be.

Jeremie and Ulrich

If you check my masterlist of Code Lyoko Imagines, I've made friendship headcanons for Odd and Yumi, and Aelita and William. The former came in the form of a request, and I considered making it a series. Pairing Ulrich and Aelita seemed like the next best thing for friendship headcanons, but then I realized Jeremie and William don't even have enough canon moments together for me to build on, unlike Aelita and William, so I chose Aelita and William for the next set, leaving Jeremie and Ulrich. I still haven't started writing it, but I promise it will be well on its way.

This first two-part special of X.A.N.A. awakens reminded me of how Jeremie and Ulrich actually work well together. Jeremy and Ulrich have been at Kadic the longest (not counting Yumi here, since we don't know when she enrolled at Kadic) and seem to already know each other prior to X.A.N.A. So, yes, a set of friendship headcanons for Ulrich and Jeremie will soon arrive!

Sissi

So, I want to talk about Sissi in this first episode. Watching the show as a teenager/kid, I thought it was wrong of Sissi to have squealed to her dad and Jim that there was an electric monster on the loose and the supercomputer at the abandoned factory was why, but she actually did the right thing.

Because when there are lives on the line, you don't care about some promise you made to your friends when lives were literally on the line. The Return to the Past changed the group's actions, ultimately leading to the change in Sissi's character and her interactions with them.

Even in general, though she is a big dolt, Sissi has several redeeming qualities shown in the show but most of those instances are erased due to a Return to the Past, or overlooked in favor of Ulrich and Yumi's romance.

Which brings me to my next point.

Ulrich and Yumi

Ulrich and Yumi have amazing chemistry in this two-part! Just from the way they meet, the way they fight against each other for practice, how they get shy when they're pinned down by the other... it is so cute.

They're both very impressed by each other, and challenged too. I've always known that Ulrich has a thing for people who challenge him, and I even mention it in one of my masterlist posts titled Headcanons - Code Lyoko.

Everything about their interactions give me YA Romance vibes -- the kinda stuff books lack these days.

As the episodes progress, you see these two go through normal teen romance stuff, like getting jealous and possessive, but they always mean well for each other, and I think their relationship is one of the most realistic teen relationships I've seen in animated shows, apart from relationships in W.I.T.C.H.

Also, if you're reading this and you know of any animated show that has a similar relationship dynamic to Ulrich and Yumi, please hit me up! I love watching new stuff.

Odd

Odd is the best.

Odd is the literal best.

Need I say more? I think not.

But I will.

Odd clearly knew Ulrich disliked him annoying him on the first day of school, but he was steadfast and kept talking to him, and even helping him and Jeremie with Lyoko anyway. He's a kind soul, and he's so fun.

Odd is the best fictional character to exist. Period.

Also Jim, but we'll get to Jim later.

Final thoughts

I loved rewatching this two-part, and I wish I'd done this kind of analysis earlier, but I am going to jump on the rewatch train and jot down my thoughts like this whenever I can!

Code Lyoko is one of my go-to comfort shows, if not the first one on my list, after all.

[monstersummongenre]

Ash & Chloe’s Friendship!

I felt the newest episode had a bit of a slight emphasis on Ash & Chloe's relationship in a way so I’m also gonna discuss their friendship, mainly though why I think Chloe is a good friend for Ash to have. (This post will include spoilers for Journey ep 135 Pokemon I’m Glad I Met You)

I realized a couple days ago that Chloe is actually a really good friend for Ash to have. Ash is emotion/instinct/impulse but he doesn't always know how to handle other people's feelings with care. Sometimes he misses other’s feelings completely and Chloe is his friend who tells him what he's missing, openly helps him shift his perspective by laying out the information he needs.

One of the most notable times this happens, Chloe letting Ash know what he missed, the information he doesn’t have, is in the episode Betrayed, Bothered and Beleaguered. In this episode, Pikachu is starting to feel jealous and let out as Ash puts just about all his focus into train Riolu. Ash misses this completely. So when Pikachu gets the attention he’s craving from Delia instead, he decides to go back to Pallet Town, with only Mr. Mime knowing this decision and not being able to inform anyone as he tagged along to ensure Pikachu was okay. 

Now we don’t see this scene on screen as this is a Pikachu-centric episode but after Pikachu leaves, Ash looks around for him. Unable to find him and confused as to why Pikachu would go mia, Ash ends up talking to Chloe, who saw something similar with Yamper literally in the episode before. Chloe had been able to peg Pikachu’s feelings and so tells Ash the why, what was going on, how Pikachu was feeling. This was important for Ash to hear so that in the long run he could course correct.

This isn’t the only time Chloe has filled in information for Ash, nor that Ash had missed someone’s feelings completely.

On Ash’s part, if you go back to one of the earlier seasons, the end of Johto for example, in the episode “Gotta Catch Ya Later”, there’s this scene where Misty gets her bike returned, completely fixed. Ash sees this as a good thing, because well Misty had really wanted her bike fixed, plus her sisters just called saying they need her to watch the gym. However Ash turning to Misty and pointing out that it’s great, now she can get home fast, isn’t at all what she had wanted to hear. She’s upset, he’s confused, she runs off. Ash doesn’t get why she responded that way. In that instance he had Brock who suggests that maybe Misty wanted to keep traveling with them.

In the most recent episode, Journeys episode 135, Ash is in a sort of similar situation. He’s just announced that he and Pikachu will definitely be heading off on a journey. Goh’s upset, Ash is confused, Goh runs off. 

Instead of Brock, Ash has Chloe who, though she wants to go find Goh and make sure he’s okay, is still taking the time to put into words what Goh’s reaction didn’t. She told Ash what he didn’t know, that Goh was considering going on a journey but couldn’t quite decide because of his feelings, because of their friendship.

Not everyone is going to always tell Ash everything, as a matter of fact, I’m not sure how often people actually full-on tell him things, in regards to their feelings and stuff. So when he misses things, he misses them, some things he couldn’t have known or at least couldn’t have known to look for. So I think it’s good for him to have Chloe as a friend because as she’s shown, she will tell him what he doesn’t know.

So yeah, that’s what Chloe does as a friend for Ash. She’s there helping him see the parts of the picture out of his view. 

I don’t fully have it worded out in my head on Ash’s end but I will share what I’m thinking so far.

On the flip side, Ash just gives her some nice help and pleasant attention really. Like I’m sure and I know he could help her in regards to Pokemon but when I think about their interactions, they’re very nice moments, like Ash inviting her to join him and Goh to wherever it was they were heading, or him helping her out with her fossil in that one episode. 

I’m not going to get too into it, but I think Chloe is rather lonely. Goh’s always been off doing his own thing, same for her family, and when she tries to hang out with them they sometimes flake out on her or hold her up. But Ash is like just a friend. And I haven’t quite figured out how to say it, I need to rewatch/watch more episodes with the two of them in them but honestly I think that’s important too. I do know he does sorta flake out on her in the episode she tries Contests Lives by opting to battle instead of heading to the Contest Hall, so maybe that’s part why I haven’t fully figured out what I’m trying to say but I really think that he is a pleasant and good friend for her to have. Maybe he helps her relax.

I’m not quite sure but even in the most recent episode, the emphasis I was referring to before honestly was simply the framing of shots.

They sit and walk next to each other throughout the episode, when theoretically you would expect either of them to be next to Goh, and their were times they were but the times they were interacting was notable.

I hope that if I’m right about Chloe continuing to be an important character in the next series, that they get some more moments of friendship. Maybe Chloe will be one of Ash’s travel companions in the next series while Goh does his own thing lol

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #218

Are you more afraid of death or not completely living? Not completely living.

What are you most afraid of? Living alone on the streets.

If you had $100 dollars, how would you spend it? I'd save it.

What’s something you would love to have happen right now? Find a job that I can actually manage.

You were given the opportunity to get a new cellular device, what do you choose? I don't know phones, but something with a good camera.

How nice of a person are you, honestly? I honestly do think I'm quite nice, especially once you've earned my respect. But I'm much less patient with dumbasses than I used to be, and I'm less of a people-pleaser to some extent.

Is there anyone of your preferred sex who tends to mess with your head? No.

What have you recently gotten the most compliments on? My hair, since I dyed it lilac. It literally took around nine hours total (this was not done all at once for the health of my hair) because of how resistent my hair is to any sort of treatment.

Do and your best friend(s) act the same, or are very different from each other? We're similar in a lot of ways, but still different. He's even less social than I am, and is very in his own bubble/generally unaware of what people are thinking/feeling unless you're close to him. He's more open about what he thinks of you too, like if he thinks you suck, you're more likely to know than if I don't like you.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how shy are you? I'd say 9.

Have you ever fallen for your best friend? Yes.

Who was the last person you made plans with? Girt.

Are you currently wearing a charm bracelet? No, I don't like wearing bracelets, period.

Do you have any embarrassing usernames? I'm not embarrassed by those I have NOW, but I've certainly had embarrassing ones when I was younger.

Do you have a backpack in a shape of an animal? No.

Do you ever get called the quiet girl? I was in school. I'm still quiet, but it's not something people point out much anymore. The people I engage with know this already. Girt's extended family still does this though on the rare instances I see more than just his mom, sister, and Penny.

Have you ever itched yourself until your skin was raw? Yes. This is a smaller reason I don't shave my legs anymore, because I would scratch my shins to the point I would develop bad scars that lasted for years, and some are probably still there under the hair. This is the MAIN reason I don't shave downstairs, because it's not exactly socially acceptable to scratch that. If I experience it so badly on my legs, I probably would there, too.

Do you always clear your history after using the computer? I never do.

Have you ever had your food stolen by a bird? No.

Do you have any Christmas pajama pants? I have I think two, but one is my most comfortable pair of all and I wear them whenever they're clean.

Do you ever wear red lipstick? I have in the past for pictures; I never keep lipstick on because I don't have a good brand or anything and it comes off too easily. I think I look nice in it, though. Especially when I had red hair.

Did you go to high school with your current best friend? Yes.

Have you ever wanted to be vegetarian or vegan? Yes. I even tried vegetarianism for a couple months, but it doesn't work for me. I'm far too picky to have a healthy diet with it.

Do you like eggnog? Big no.

Who is the person you dislike the most? Sara, because she disgusts me on so many levels.

Girls, how old were you when you first got your period? I think Mom's said I was 12.

Do you take part in paying the bills for your household? I'm not employed, nor do I receive any government assistance money-wise, so I literally can't. I have nothing to give.

What is your favourite way to eat rice? As pork fried rice.

Do your parents know how to text? Yes.

Do you text your parents often? No. I live with my mom so there's no need unless she's not home, and Dad and I just don't talk regularly.

Do you watch Youtube videos often? Every day, almost all day. I'm doing other things too of course, but one's basically always on in the background. I have my windows sized to where I can watch videos and do whatever else.

Do you prefer to have a lot of friends? No, I prefer a small group of people I can truly trust. Not that there's anything wrong with a large group you DO trust, I just think it's rare to manage that.

Do you sleep with one blanket or many blankets? One. I change out the blankets favoring thickness depending on the time of year because of temperature fluctuations.

What is the FIRST thing you do when you wake up? Check the time.

What do you usually have for breakfast, if you do at all? Almost always cereal, but lately I've been making eggs for myself often.

Do you have any rituals you perform before you leave your home for the day? Not really. I mean, I'll go to the bathroom if I feel like I need to, but that's it.

Have you ever cried in front of your parents over a boyfriend or girlfriend? Yup.

What brand is your digital camera? Canon.

Who was the last person to cook something for you? My mom.

Do you talk to any of your ex-boyfriends/girlfriends? No.

Do you know where your best friend is? He's actually in Minnesota right now for a week-long event he's interested in. He never goes on trips like this so I'm proud of him.

Who was the last person to comment you on Facebook? My mom, apparently.

What is your display picture of on Facebook? Me w/ my lilac hair.

Have you ever kissed the same sex? Yes.

Have you stuck with your New Year's resolution? So, this year turned way more into a health (physical and mental) year than I'd thought it would. It's not necessarily a bad thing; I've made a lot of mental health developments, in a positive way. My photography has really fallen on the wayside when my resolution was to make this a year of photography developments, specifically in building a career. I mean I haven't totally given up on it, and I've recently made much more of an effort to be active on my photography Insta accounts, which has gone well.

Do you need to lose any weight right now? Yes, I'm considered morbidly obese. I'm trying and have been trying for a long time, but I'm just not consistent enough. My depression and stuff makes it all the more harder.

When was the last time you had a period? It's been around three months due to mayhem with my medications. First a maniac psychiatrist yanked me off everything at once with no weaning (which I know ROYALLY fucked up my system), and then I went back on them, then there was more tampering... I'm hoping I have one in July, even though I know I'm not pregnant because it's impossible, I just have peace of mind with a regular period.

How frequently are you inclined to read, and how much? It varies day-to-day, but I don't tend to go long without doing it.

How does the rain affect your mood, if it does? It can depress me, but I can also find it comforting.

Chipotle order? I don't eat there.

Thoughts on veganism? I think it's great, but I don't support extremists that shit all over people who aren't vegans.

Mythical creature you think/believe is real? None?

Favorite form of potato? French fries.

First thing you’re doing in the purge? Boarding up the house to the best of my ability and hiding with Mom with knives?

Are you one of those lucky people with 20/20 vision? lmao hell no, I know one of my eyes is fine, but my right is the one that is absolutely abominable. It gets worse every time I go to the eye doctor too, and I wear my glasses all the time, except of course when I'm sleeping.

When was the last time you spoke to the last person you kissed? We're messaging on Discord.

Have you ever been your friend’s shoulder to cry on? Literally and even more often non-literally, yes. I like listening to people.

Grab your keys and tell me what each one is for. I have one key and it's for this house.

What is your wine of choice, if any? I've hated any wine I've ever put in my mouth. Which hasn't been many, but.

Is your bed against more than one of your walls? No, just one.

Have you ever made out in your room? Last time? Yes; that's my business.

Do you have a crazy aunt? Yes, my mom's sister. We don't associate with her because she's fucking batshit and even her kids don't talk to her.

Have you ever been to an art museum? Yes, I enjoy these a lot.

What fictional character/s remind you of yourself? Clearsight from Wings of Fire and so far Alderheart in the Warriors series. Basically, the characters that worry and overthink too much lol.

Are you afraid of spiders? No, I love spiders.

Are you afraid of snakes? I love snakes even more.

Do you often post about politics on social media? Yes, because morality is important, especially when people without any want to control the world.

[close-friends00]

dear lola

dear Lola, I wanted to reach out to you and semi-"confront" you after fathers day. when I reached out to you on Saturday or Friday asking to give our relationship another shot I expected us to go back to normal, however when you opened up to me about your feelings that day I was left with more questions than answers and more uncertainty than closure. I wanted to send you this and open up to you about what I'm feeling and where I'm standing on this relationship because not only do I want some sort of closure for myself I want to lay out all my feelings so I don't have any pent up feelings or resentment towards you.

starting off with your message regarding that you feel as though I treat you as a friend, at first I was confused and you explained that you feel as though I treat you as more than a friend than a romantic partner, at first I sort of understood what you were saying however I grew sort of angry and confused. mostly because you're saying that you feel as though I treat you as a friend however at least from my point of view I have felt that I have shown my romantic feelings towards you quite a lot. For instance, from the very beginning I have always been looking for your attention in school, like whenever you needed somebody to buy you something, or you told me you hadn't eaten I always made sure to buy you something and care for you- which I literally don't mind- also would a friend show up to your concert with flowers, chocolate, and a letter, would a friend be constantly making you cute maps about you guys or Lego versions of yourselves, would a friend make you a whole plate of food during an NHS fundraiser, would a friend have a whole ass highlight dedicated to our relationship....that statement that I treat you as a friend fucks me up because these are just SOME of the things I have done for you (things that btw I don't mind doing because I quite literally have feelings for you and care for you) but it just hurts that your so dead set that the whole reason why we should take more time Is because of that.

another thing that I wanna address that made me uncomfortable was the whole thing about you feeling that you're chasing after me all the time in terms of affection. I understand how you might feel that way due to me not being the most affectionate person however there have been many more times where I felt as though I've been chasing after you like a dog. for example, whenever I would come up to you in snack and lunch and you would just run off with Vale to go to the bathroom. or whenever I would come up to you in the bench and I would sit down start talking to you and you would be one your phone playing or with headphones in. or in the frolic where I felt like I was chasing after you the whole day. (these are just some out of many) all these times I felt so hurt and cast aside by you and maybe looking back knowing how recent the whole thing with nahir was, somethings add up but it still doesn't change the fact that I have felt cast aside by you and like I've been chasing after you for such a long time. and I understand that maybe I could've been much more affectionate, but i told you that not only would you be my first girl relationship you would be my first ever relationship..therefore I wanted to take things easy and slow and just step by step. also when I opened up to sael about this she had told me you had mentioned when y'all were at the hotel together that weekend that you wanted to take it slow with me, so I thought that we were on the same page...also that night that you stayed over that you wanted to kiss me, I want to be honest and say that I felt sort of uncomfortable, I mean we were smoking and drinking and maybe you weren't that high pero I was a little bit (tampoco tanto) pero still when you wanted to kiss I felt kinda uncomfortable that you wanted to when we were not in our right headspace or at least me (ik that you probably have a higher tolerance so you weren't that faded ) not only that but ideally I wouldn't want to have our first kiss together and my first ever kiss be under that circumstance.

i also wanted to bring up something that is quite of an iffy subject but from the very begging I think I've made it quite clear that I have been ready for an official relationship and for us to become official however looking back on it I realize that in April you were still dealing with the whole nahir thing and then in may also a little bit at the end with theater and her and the guy so it just hurts that you tell me after two months of me waiting, you tell me after your concert that now you are ready to give attention to our relationship when I have been comited since day one. and it just hurts because it feels for so long you've been dangling this idea of us being official in front of me for so long to now come and say that I only see you as a friend and that I want to persue a friendship hurts. it almost feels like your using that as an excuse to cope out of the relationship, and if that's the truth I rather you just admit you don't want a relationship with me rather than assume that I want to presue a friendship when I think I've made it clear from the begging that I don't. I remember that when you opened up to me about being scared that I wouldn't be able to deal with certain things if I got with you or that you feel as though you don't want to burden me I would you, I promised you I would wait..and that's still true I would wait a hundred years for you, but its different waiting for someone who's as committed as I am to a relationship, than someone who has just recently but their focus in our relationship just a few weeks ago...

and lastly the thing that hurt the most was you saying that I have a friend crush on you and that you want to take time for me to realize and be sure of who.what I want or am. first I have been very sure of my sexuality for a very long time, and sure I'll admit maybe I was a bit scared or hesitant at the begining of our relationship but I know in my heart that I have always always made it clear about my feeling for you, and the fact that you're saying that you feel as though I have a friend crush on you hurts because I already told you I have done lots of things that show that I don't see you as a friend, or have done things that friends don't do. once again, I feel like your using the whole friend thing and ridding with it as a scapegoat to our relationship, because even when I made it clear I have feelings for you you still insisted that I have a friend crush. in the end I think its better for us to just be friends, I feel as though maybe you just had a simple 'hallway crush' that developed into something you weren't expecting and the timing of our whole relationship Is just too close to he whole things that went down with your exes, do I think its best for us to just remain friends, even though I had the highest of hopes that we would work out but int he end I feel like I was more committed to it than you and I feel that I don't think I can move on from what happened with valentina, considering that it happened two weeks before you told me, and I feel as though if you felt guilty about it afterwards you clearly remembered and I would have rather you tell me the day afterwards or a few days rather than almost two weeks and only because Vale brought it up in an argument. and I don't think I can move on from how you're dictating my feelings right now and insisting that you feel as though I treat you as a friend when I feel like that's not true.

ultimately I think we're better off as friends, and It hurts to say this considering that I feel as though I'm proving you right in the whole (friend crush bs) but I know deep down that I put so much effort into this relationship and that I truly truly cared about you and loved you however I think I need to have more love for myself and I think its best we stay friends...

[jennyviviandee]

Something's happening to me.

But why?

Why all of the sudden?

Why are my feelings and thoughts all over the place? When they bloody weren't before? What's changed?

It is since I want to be more like her?

You know, once I get somewhere I feel safe plus gain more of my own courage and needed cash to begin transitioning.

It is merely a squish? Admiration? But, her work persona is kinda that of an asshole.

Except towards me.

However, I don't believe she truly is one. I've seen how she interacts with her kid. How she was with me the single time we bumped into each other (not literally) outside of work.

I imagine it must be a wall she's built. Designed to protect her. Following a traumatic happening she has mentioned.

Jinkies, am I experiencing a crush...?!

Even though it has been over a decade following my last regarding any sort of non-platonic interest? It is because I have discovered we share affinities and enjoy talking with her while at work? That both of us were adopted? That both of us have been impacted by similar traumas we won't go into detail about? All of this stuff neither of us were aware of previously about one another has become divulged on the cusp of her one year anniversary at the store.

Is it mostly due to how I haven't been the same following Dad's death two years ago and I'm still grieving the unexpected loss of one of my best friends earlier this year?

Those deaths still hurt tremendously.

I have always tried to separate most of my work self from genuine self.

Yet, in this specifc instance I'm noticing that I'm blurring the two. Usually I don't do this or let such a thing occur. I sure as heck didn't at my overnight job of four years.

Then she recommended a musical film I hadn't seen in my life.

I used to watch those with Dad frequently: he introduced me to them. I had a VHS of a musical play version of Peter Barrie's Peter Pan in which he was played by a woman. That's the earliest I can recall anyways. Oliver! (1969) is pretty prevalent too though.

Her recommendation unintentionally rekindled a joy I had been denying myself after Dad died. I thought I merely enjoyed musicals because I saw them with him. 2023 has revealed otherwise.

She knows that one of my best friends passed away. She's the lone one there that's not a major position there. At the time. She has been promoted to a managerial department position as of a couple of months ago. I'm so incredibly proud and happy for her. Seeing my friends prosper is always welcomed.

Prior to, she was a transplant in multiple departments. We worked together side-by-side. She'd always demolish each shift we were scheduled for. With her, no shift ever felt insurmountable when she worked with me. She taught me stuff no one else had or would which further solidified myself as an employee that became more of a valuable asset to the company as a whole. With a couple of necessary teachings I could be a manager honestly.

Alas, I had an emotional breakdown in the break room upon coming back after taking time off for said funeral (including being a pallbearer).

I hadn't been watching nor listening to musicals like I used to do. Until quite recently. A missing piece of me she wouldn't had known about before.

At the very least I feel like she should know? Or express gratitude for having a hand in reviving the long-lost me ? Am I not truly ace...? Is this simply dysphoric?

Maybe, ultimately I just need counseling or therapy? Can I even afford either? Not sure. Everything's really damn confusing right now.

[julianmajablancas]

entry 10.

april 28, 2023

after a much awaited return (literally no one said that) i’m back. a lot has happened since my last entry, my girlfriend (or now ex) broke up, i got admitted to rehab, had the lowest point of my life there, bounced back, and now i’m having my ??? moment. what prompted this entry is my recent string of failed relationships (by string i mean 5 of them, all failed horribly) and i’m feeling like an absolute fool about it. i don’t have the drive to detail each of them, they’re all a piece of shit one way or another. i won’t say it wasn’t all my fault but there’s only one instance where i can say that it really was… anyway, i was feeling really low and melodramatic these days, it’s like thoughts are clouded over my head. am i really that unlovable? the only moment i became my true self was when i told her what i wanted to be treated like, but apparently it was too much that she decided to go completely unresponsive to me. i mean, all of them had these unique qualities in my mind which made me think that we were 4ever, looking back that was one of the most batshit insane things i’ve probably said. my closest friends can attest to this, and it’s funny because everytime i would introduce someone to them it would go horribly WRONG. i would miss them randomly, and i know this was my delusion talking because i would miss the what-could-have-beens and not the situation as it was. i would get in this cycle of beating myself up for relationships ending prematurely and i never got anything good of it. still, i subconsciously still do it. i know the way to end all of this is to stop seeking validation but growing up unvalidated it’s better said than done…

sometimes i would remember my ex. its making me confused too, like how i would root for kyle all the way to the end yet i couldn’t say the same for her… i wonder if we became friends after i wouldn’t be feeling like this, i would be at least indifferent towards her, maybe even happy. but the thing is, i’m not. i’m rooted in this deep seethed anger. i don’t know if i’m capable of ever forgiving her completely. a friend said to me that some people just aren’t meant to be friends with. and i kinda agree, maybe it’s like that. kyle was probably a good candidate to be a friend but she wasn’t. it doesn’t help at all that i’m listening to Cool About It by Boygenius. that song basically talks about how you can’t stand to be with someone you still hate, but you’re just faking it all the fucking way. and it hurts. it fucking hurts me in ways i do not expect. i wouldn’t be able to function, to do the basic things i used to do. sometimes i can’t stand the pain, i just want to wallow in my own depressing self pity and self sabotage all the ways i could’ve prevented it from happening. if i hadn’t talked to winslet, would we still be together? if i didn’t choose to ignore her, would we still be together? but in the back of my mind i know i could have done absolutely nothing wrong. looking from an outsider’s point of view, it was really her problem, she needed to do some serious self reflection. and it would end, just like the way things do. i hate that she’s happy with someone else, and it’s not me. as cheesy as it may sound tears are currently flooding my eyes as i’m writing this. i know her next will be met with intense disappointment also, just by the way she treats life in general. and i feel sad for him. i know i’m over her, it’s been months, but sometimes i just hate remembering. ever since then, i’ve just been met with continuous disappointment. which is probably why i’m feeling like this. i don’t know, i have more thoughts about this whole thing than i’d like to write but that will be all for now. i hope tomorrow i’ll feel better, i know there are better days ahead than this….

[ofswordsandpens]

Percy v Jason could’ve been about anything, Jason had exactly one person looking for him and it’s implied that Octavian didn’t really look, and Percy had his entire camp looking for him, Jason only reunited with his sister because Thalia was out looking for Percy (talk about a punch in the face. Jason’s own sister is looking for this missing son of Poseidon, but Jason doesn’t know if anyone is looking for him), and then Jason arrives at Camp Jupiter to learn that he’s been replaced by Percy, when nobody at CHB would ever consider Jason as a replacement for Percy. Yet somehow, they fought because of possession, not because of anything else, or even just ideology differences (Jason considered leaving Nico to die, suggesting this in front of Hazel, but Percy cannot begin to understand leaving a friend behind to certain death. Percy should’ve attacked Jason right then)

You've hit the nail on the head literally Riordan had SO MUCH to work with. Like with a lot of things with hoo - all the elements were there for something so spectacular and RR manages to choose a route that's so lackluster. 

With how much buildup the fight between Percy and Jason had (being that this battle was on the literal cover of the book) I was really expecting something explosive with a lot more narrative significance. Riordan had planted a few seeds of potential animosity between them as they were both trying to automatically assume the leader position (which is also what happened with  Thalia and Percy) but that’s really as far as RR takes it, and then pulls such a lame move with their “fight” not really being a fight between them at all but ghosts.

On Jason’s end, he really could’ve been boiling with this whole inferiority complex thing. Like you said, he’s at CHB for months, he sees everyone just overcome with worry for Percy, all trying to get him back, and then he waltz back into his own camp and the entire ordeal is so wrapped up in formality and procedure that anyone that might be happy to see him can’t even really act on it. Percy gets tackled by his girlfriend. Reyna stiffly calls him a former colleague. Ouch. And it’s not exactly as if Jason was trying to become a leader at CHB, but if I came back to my home camp and found out the guy who had been there for like a week and half had been so amazing that he’d been elevated to my status and was overtly blasé about the entire deal, I’d start to get a little agitated.

And then you could really drive in with this whole Thalia angle. The fact that he first finds Thalia again because she was searching for Percy. Percy has much more shared recent history with Thalia. You could have Jason over hear conversations between Annabeth and Percy where they’re talking about Thalia and there’s such a familiarity there that comes with fighting alongside someone for years and Jason starts to get that burning sensation of jealousy. (Not to mention, people regularly comment on how similar Percy and Thalia are, while Jason gets comments on how dissimilar he and Thalia are, so again, ouch.)

And then the ideological differences!! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but their fatal flaws were set up to clash one another perfectly. Percy would sacrifice the world to save a friend. Jason would never allow himself to do such a thing. That whole discussion on whether they should rescue Nico would be the instance that Percy starts to side eye Jason like who the fuck do you think you are.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly - Percy and Jason are symbolic figureheads of the Greek v Roman tension. Their fight absolutely should have elements of that whole debacle within it. (And I remember when the cover for moa came out that’s exactly what we thought their fight was going to be about).

Like, this fight really could have been the boiling point of all of these factors. It could have been the Percy v Thalia fight 2.0 where we just watch their powers escalate and are reminded that fights between big three kids are dangerous. Instead we got an uninspired battle that was frankly just boring.